THE UK GOVERNMENT S PROGRAMME OF WORK TO FIGHT POVERTY IN
THE UK GOVERNMENT S PROGRAMME OF WORK TO FIGHT POVERTY IN Contents 1-2 WHAT is Development? Why is the UK Government involved? What is DFID? 3-4 Why we are working in Key Facts 5-6 What we have already achieved 7-8 How we are working in 9-10 How do we know it will work? 11-12 What will change?
1 2 What is development? Why is the UK Government involved? What is DFID? GETTING RID OF POVERTY WILL MAKE FOR A BETTER WORLD FOR EVERYBODY What is Development? International development is about helping people fight poverty. This means people in rich and poor countries working together to settle conflicts, increase opportunities for trade, tackle climate change, improve people s health and their chances to get an education. It means helping governments in developing countries put their own plans into action. It means agreeing debt relief, working with international institutions that co-ordinate support, and working with non-government organisations and charities to give communities a chance to find their own ways out of poverty. Why is the UK Government involved? Getting rid of poverty will make for a better world for everybody. Nearly a billion people, one in six of the world s population, live in extreme poverty. This means they live on less than $1 a day. Ten million children die before their fifth birthday, most of them from preventable diseases. More than 113 million children in developing countries do not go to school. In a world of growing wealth, such levels of human suffering and wasted potential are not only morally wrong, they are also against our own interests. We are closer to people in developing countries than ever before. We trade more and more with people in poor countries, and many of the problems which affect us - conflict, international crime, refugees, the trade in illegal drugs and the spread of diseases - are caused or made worse by poverty in developing countries. In the last 10 years Britain has more than trebled its spending on aid to nearly 7 billion a year. We are now the fourth largest donor in the world. What is DFID? DFID, the Department for International Development, is the part of the UK Government that manages Britain s aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty. We work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals - a set of targets agreed by the United Nations to halve global poverty by 2015. With 64 offices overseas DFID staff work in some of the most difficult places in the world to protect the vulnerable and help countries recover from conflict. We work with organisations like the United Nations, European Union and the World Bank to find international solutions to international problems. We give money and other help to governments in developing countries to support their own action plans to reduce the number of people living in poverty. And we fund charities, including the British Red Cross, VSO and Oxfam, to work directly with communities. We spend our money where it is most needed and where it will make the most difference and every year the UK Government helps cut the number of people living in poverty by three million.
3 4 Why we are working in Key facts Why we are working in Bangladesh has the 7th largest population in the world, with 143 million people living in an area roughly the same size as England and Wales. Sixty nine million Bangladeshis live on less than $1 per day, and 113 million almost 80% of the population on less than $2 per day. Thanks to sustained economic growth of more than 5% a year since 1990, Bangladesh has made significant progress. Poverty has decreased from 59% to 40% since 1991; life expectancy has increased from 59 to 64 years; almost all children are immunised, and more than 90% start primary school. But huge challenges remain: 70% of the urban population live in slums and more than 30 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. As a low lying delta sandwiched between the Himalayan glaciers and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The UK has been helping Bangladesh to tackle poverty since independence in 1971, and is the largest bilateral donor. We want to help Bangladesh achieve its vision of becoming a middle-income country by 2021 (currently this equates to $936 - approximately 670 - per year). Recent successful elections, and a new democratically elected government, offer a real opportunity to make further, rapid progress. Key Facts Size: 144,000 Km² Population: 143 million (approx) Average life expectancy: Average life expectancy of 64 years (79 in the UK) 1 in 15 children die before their 5th birthday More than 12,000 women die each year due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth 40% of children under five are malnourished Average annual income per head: 470 ( 22,000 in the UK) More than 14 million people are extremely poor, living on the equivalent of less than 20 pence per day 1.5 million people enter the labour market each year but many are unable to find full time employment 67 million adults are illiterate, 42 million of them women less than two thirds of children complete 5 years of basic education In a normal year 25% of Bangladesh is flooded during the monsoon As a low lying delta sandwiched between the Himalayan glaciers and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change.
5 6 What we have already achieved We helped to create A new photo-based electoral roll which enabled more than 80 million people, half of them women, to register to vote in the most free and fair elections in Bangladesh s history. What we have already achieved The Good News Bangladesh has made real progress towards the Millennium Development Goals since 2000. The target of halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty is achievable. In recent years, the UK has helped to: Provide primary education to more than 1 million children Ensure that 82% of children are fully vaccinated, contributing to a 51% reduction in the number of under-5s who die each year Create a new photo-based electoral roll. More than 80 million people - half of them women - registered to vote in the December 2008 election, regarded as the most free and fair in Bangladesh s history Protect the lives and livelihoods of more than 300,000 people by raising their homesteads above flood level Provide more than 2 million people with safe drinking water, and 9 million people with improved toilets and better sanitation Build stronger livelihoods for over 1 million extremely poor people by providing cash transfers and productive assets. 90% of the direct beneficiaries were women Meet emergency humanitarian needs following 3 natural disasters in 2007 by providing clean water, blankets, food, shelter and other essential items, worth 20 million We have provided more than 2 million people with safe drinking water, and 9 million with better toilets and sanitation. But There is still much to be done. Ensuring people get access to quality services, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and maintain their lives and livelihoods in the face of natural disasters, will continue to be big challenges.
7 8 How we are working in How we are working in This plan will contribute to the Joint Cooperation Strategy we are helping develop between government, other donors and multilateral organisations, so that aid efforts in Bangladesh are better coordinated to help meet those most in need. DFID will coordinate its work with that of the rest of the UK Government and international partners to achieve this. We will help ensure more girls get access to education, and work with men and boys to raise awareness of gender issues The UK is the largest grant donor to Bangladesh, with existing commitments valued at almost 1 billion. Our money will be most effective when it supports Bangladesh s own plans and institutions. We will work through a range of different partners including government, multilateral and international organisations and non-government organisations to support Bangladesh s Poverty Reduction Strategy. This plan will: Help Bangladesh reduce poverty and live with Climate Change: By building effective, efficient government systems to raise revenue and manage public finances better. We will also work with civil society to ensure that poor people have better access to rights and justice By improving the quality and coverage of health, education, water and sanitation, ensuring people can access services with less room for corruption; and by supporting improvements in food security and nutrition for the extreme poor By protecting people s lives and livelihoods against natural disasters like floods and cyclones and building their resilience, and by supporting Bangladeshi-Government led efforts to adapt to the impacts of Climate Change By working with government and others to make investors feel more confident about doing business in Bangladesh, and by helping give men and women the skills needed to secure better jobs Help ensure that the aid Bangladesh receives is used more effectively: By working closely with bilateral and multilateral partners to develop a Joint Co-operation Strategy, so that aid efforts are better co-ordinated to reach those most in need. We will also work to improve the effectiveness of multilateral organisations which the UK supports Promote gender equality and improvements in the status of women: By ensuring that all of our efforts include specific measures to improve the status of women and girls in Bangladesh for example by helping ensure more girls get access to education; by making pregnancy and childbirth safer; and by working with men and boys to raise awareness of gender issues We will improve the skills of job seekers, particularly women and excluded groups, and link their training to real jobs with decent pay and working conditions
9 10 How do we know it will work? How do we know it will work? During 2008, DFID consulted widely within Bangladesh and the UK about what to include in our Country Plan for. We had discussions with government ministries, civil society, the private sector and with the Bangladeshi community in the UK as well as with Bangladesh s other development partners. Evaluation of DFID s past programmes has shown where our support has had most impact. We have protected the livelihoods of more than 300,000 people by helping them raise their homesteads above flood level Evidence shows that we have helped strengthen government s budgeting and financial management systems, making fraud and corruption more difficult. By working with others we have been able to provide education and vocational skills training to people who are beyond the reach of Government systems. And we have been able to provide a sustainable ladder out of extreme poverty for those left behind by Bangladesh s development. One of the key lessons from evaluations is that we need to focus our efforts on fewer issues.by concentrating on the Millennium Development Goals which are most at risk in Bangladesh, we can make a major impact on people s lives. We need to do more to improve the quality of primary education; build government capacity to deliver basic services to the population; and continue to help directly those living in extreme poverty. We also need to help civil society deliver where government cannot; and advocate for the rights of citizens. We have a team of 80 Bangladeshi and UK staff based in Dhaka with the skills, expertise and commitment to help the government and people of Bangladesh tackle some of the underlying causes of poverty in the country.
11 12 What will change? What will change? Our vision reflects the UK s commitment to meeting the global targets to reduce poverty the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Achieving our targets in Bangladesh will mean that: Government will be more effective: 5 million more Bangladeshis will be registered as taxpayers by 2014, increasing government revenue 10 million more men and women will have had access to an effective justice system by 2014 Bangladesh will be tackling climate change effectively: 15 million poor people will be better prepared to adapt to and deal with the impacts of climate change Physical infrastructure (flood defences, cyclone shelters) will be improved More people will have an education, skills and jobs: 4 million more children will have completed 5 years of quality basic education by 2015 70,000 men and women will have jobs as a result of vocation and/or English language skills 2 million additional jobs will have been created Fewer people will be living in extreme poverty and hunger: 6.5 million people will have been lifted out of extreme poverty Monga (seasonal hunger) will have been eliminated by 2015 and acute malnutrition reduced More women will have access to quality maternal health care: 4 million pregnant women will have been looked after by skilled birth attendants The international community will be working better: the Joint Co-operation Strategy will be providing a basis for better division of labour and improved co-ordination amongst donors, and will respond to Bangladeshi priorities the UN system will be more effectively Delivering as One 15 million poor people will be better prepared to adapt to and deal with the impacts of climate change
More information What can I do? Get informed: Visit our website, read our publications and check aid agency websites. Spread the word: Get people talking, start discussions with your friends. If you re at school: Why not look into a school linking project? Buy fairly-traded goods: To help people in developing countries work their own way out of poverty. Protect the environment: Climate change presents a serious threat to development. Give money: To charities working to reduce poverty. Give your time: To an organisation like VSO. And, during a disaster, give money, volunteer if you have specialist skills, or help raise funds. How can I find out more? This booklet forms part of a series to explain DFID s work around the world. For more detailed information about DFID s work visit: www.dfid.gov.uk For more information about DFID Bangladesh, write to us at: DFID Bangladesh United House 10 Gulshan Avenue Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212 Bangladesh or visit: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/countries/asia/bangladesh.asp Tel: +880 2 881 0800 Designed by Cog Design for DFID. 07/09 1K Printed on recycled material containing 75% recycled fibre and 25% elemental chlorine free virgin fibre. REF: CP05 ISBN: 1 86192 994 3